The Illinois Agricultural Associotion Record 



Th* nUnou Agricultural Auociatian BECORO 

 ia publiahsd menlhlr by th* IllinoU Agrimllural 

 Aweciatien at 1501 W. Waihingtoo Road. M«n- 

 data, ni. Editorial OUicoi. 608 So. Doarborn St.. 

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 post oKico. Msndpia. Illinois. Soplsmbor 11. 1936. 

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 Association RECORD. Postmaster: Send notices 

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Director of Information. C. L. Mast. Jr.: Editor. 

 Merrill C. Gregory, on laore of absence with the 

 United States Army; Assistant editor. Cresten 

 Foster; Director of Advertising. C. M. Seagrares. 

 en leore of absence with the U. S. Nary. 



Illinois Agricnltnral 

 Association 



Greatest State Farm Organization 

 in America 



OFFICERS 



President. Earl C. Smith Detroit 



Vice-President, Talmage Deirees Smithboro 

 Corporate Sec, Paul E. Mathias Chicago 



Field Sec, Geo. E. Metzger Chicago 



Treastirer, R. A. Cowles Bloomington 



Asst. Treas., A. H. Wright Varna 



Comptroller, R. G. Ely Chicago 



General Counsel, Donald Kirkpotrick 



^.Chicago 



BOARD OF DmECTORS 

 (By Congressional Districts) 



1st to 11th Harvey W. Adair, Chicago Hte. 



I2th Rex E. Peddicord, Marseilles 



13th Homer Curtiss, Stockton 



14th Otto Stefiey, Stronghurst 



ISth Ronald A. Holt, Galva 



16th Albert Hayes, Chilicothe 



17th Charles Lauritzen, Reddick 



18th W. A. Dennis, Paris 



19th Charles B. Shuman, Sullivan 



20th E. T. Smith, Greeniield 



2Ut Dwight Hart, Taylorville 



22nd Alvin O. Eckert. Belleville 



23rd Chester McCord, Newton 



24th Lyman Bunting, EUery 



2Sth August G. Eggerding. Red Bud 



DEPARTMENT DIRECTORS 



Dairy Marketing Willred Shaw 



Fruit and Vegetoble Marketing L. L. Coins 



Grain Marketing George H. litner 



Live Stock Marketing S. F. Russell 



Office... _ C. E. lohnston 



Organisation. - O. D. Brissanden 



Produce Marketing F. A. Geugler 



PubUcity C. L. Mast. Jr. 



Research and Taxation L. H. Simerl 



Safety. _ C. M. Seagrares (en leaTe. U.S.N.) 



Sales Sarrica W. P. Sandierd 



Soil Improvement John R. Spencer 



Transportation-Claims G. W. Baxter 



Young People's Activities Ellsworth D. Lyon 



ASSOCIATED ORGANIZATIONS 



Country Life Ins. Co Dave Mieher, Mgr. 



Farmery' Mutual Reinsur. Co I. H. Kelker. Mgr. 



ni. Agr. Auditing Assn C. E. Strand, Mgr. 



ni. Agr. Mutual Ins. Co... A. E. Richordson, Mgr. 



ni. Agr. Service Co Earl C. Smith. Pros. 



Donald Kirkpotrick. Sec. 



ni. Co-op Locker Service Dana Cryder. Pros. 



ni. F. Bur. Serum Assn S. F. Russell. Sac.-Mgr. 



ni. Farm Supply Co C. H. Becker. Mgr. 



ni. Fruit Growers' Exchange. L. L. Colvis. Mgr. 



ni. Grain Corporation. Frank Haines. Mgr. 



ni. Livestock Mctg. Assn...H. W. Trautmann. Mgr. 



ni. Producers'. Assn Wilired Shaw. Mgr. 



ni. Producers' Creameries I. B. Countiss. Mgr. 



ni Wool Mktg. Assn. S. F. RusseU. Sec.-Mgr. 



To advance the purpose for which the Farm Bureau was 

 organized, namely, to promote, protect and represent the 

 business, economic, social and education interests of the 

 formers of Illinois and the Nation, and to develop agriculture. 



JUNE, 1944 



VOLUME 22 • NUMBER 6 



By Earl C. Smith 



w; 



E ARE enter- 

 ing a presiden- 

 tial campaign year 

 during a period of 

 war. This naturally 

 makes it more than 

 usually important 

 that calm, clear and 

 independent think- 

 ing be exercised by 

 farmers generally 

 and by those representing their interests. 

 Historic political prejudices must be 

 left in the background. American ideals 

 and American interests must have first 

 place in our attitudes and considerations. 

 Political platforms, and more partic- 

 ularly the statements of candidates for 

 high positions of public trust in the 

 months ahead must be analyzed carefully. 

 One of the major purposes and re- 

 sponsibilities of a farm organization is 

 to see that farmers' interests are properly 

 represented at all council tables where 

 matters of public policy affecting agri- 

 culture both directly and indirectly are 

 in the making. 



Farmers of the nation have a big 

 stake in the agricultural platforms which 

 will be adopted by the two major polit- 

 ical parties at their resp)ective national 

 conventions within the next few weeks. 

 History has a way of repeating itself. 

 As in other years in advance of political 

 conventions some political leaders, and 

 particularly those outside the farm belt, 

 appear to minimize the importance of 

 adopting clean-cut and understandable 

 agricultural planks or promises necessary 

 to maintain policies of government es- 

 sential to sustain agriculture on a satis- 

 factory basis. 



Following a policy of many years 

 standing, your leaders will be present at 

 both national party conventions to pre- 

 sent the Farm Bureau's position on na- 

 tional issues which affect agriculture, and 

 will make definite recommenda'.«'ons in 

 keeping with the policies laid down by 

 Farm Bureau delegates at annual meet- 

 ings of the American Farm Bureau Fed- 

 eration. : ■.' 



Upon invitation from the Preliminary 

 Republican Platform Committee, officers 

 of the American Farm Bureau Federation 

 presented a detailed statement of recom- 

 mendations on April 3. On page 6 

 of this issue of the Record is printed 

 a full text of this statement, which em- 

 bodies the fundamentals of the recom- 

 mendations which will be made to the 

 official platform committees of the Re- 

 publican and Democratic parties at their 

 respective forthcoming national conven- 

 tions. 



It is recommended that Farm Bureau ^ 

 members study this statement so that 

 they may become thoroughly familiar 

 with the position of their organization 

 on basic agricultural policies. 



It is important that the rank and file 

 of Farm Bureau members in Illinois use 

 their influence in urging representatives 

 of the respective parties to right aggres- 

 sively for the adoption of sound agri- 

 cultural planks by their convention dele- 

 gates. 



When opportunity affords, it becomes 

 the responsibility of leadership to see 

 that the official position of the Farm 

 Bureau is properly presented on the state 

 as well as the national level to both po- 

 litical parties at the same time their 

 platforms are being planned or drafted. 



On Friday, May 12, in response to an 

 invitation of the Illinois Republican 

 Platform Committee, I presented the of- 

 ficial position of the Illinois Agricultural 

 Association regarding major agricultural 

 issues, and urged that these recommenda- 

 tions \x adopted by the State Republican 

 Platform Committee. I emphasized the 

 importance of Illinois delegates to the 

 national convention, as representing a 

 great agricultural state, of becoming 

 particularly aggressive in using their in- 

 fluence to secure a national agricultural 

 plank which truly represented the desires 

 of farm people and which would meet 

 the needs of the nation in looking for- 

 ward to a stabilized agriculture in the 

 difficult postwar period. 



I also urged that the Illinois Republi- 

 can platform endorse the "Gateway 



